Arcane Journey

Chapter 281 Lost Lady Shar
Inside the Ghost Tower in the Floating Void City.

"Speak freely here, please sit down, Lady Storm."

Storm Silverhand, leader of the Harpers, looked around with interest.

The most astonishing thing about the wizard tower studio is the huge amount of books that occupy a huge space. The thick books and scrolls bent the partitions of the bookshelves on the wall, and piled up cabinets and boxes.

The leader of the Harper estimated that these books can definitely be traced back to the history of the Netheril Empire, and must be of great value.

Of course, there's no shortage of the more usual decorations: a stuffed macrophage shark, a decayed phase spider hanging from the ceiling, a dusty skeleton of a leaping baboon.

There are also a considerable number of bottles and clay pots, which are soaked in unknown magic potions with all the materials of the necromancy school that she can imagine:

Fingers and claws of bone suckers, larvae of mind flayers, carapaces of carrier bugs, hearts of larvae mind splitters, brains of corrupt marauders, and countless samples of humans and humanoids—mostly internal organs, It even included a whole aboleth submerged in a huge glass bottle.

Storm has traveled to every corner of the Forgotten Kingdom, and among the groups of spellcasters he has seen, whether they are from the good camp or the evil camp, there are countless.

During this period, whether she was a guest or eradicating evil mages, she could be said to have stepped into the workshops, laboratories, and lich lairs of countless spellcasters, and naturally saw many incredible items.

Therefore, she didn't feel that the collection of the Shadow Prince was very special.

However, what disgusted Storm the most was coming to the workshop of a spellcaster who was proficient in Necromancy School.

If necessary, she would prefer to have all of these disgusting things wiped from the world.

But this is obviously impossible. Her younger sister Simbu once had the same idea about the red-robed wizard of Searle, and was finally stopped by the oracle issued by the goddess.

The simple explanation is: the existence of everything is reasonable.

"Ms. Storm, what are you thinking?" The shadow prince in black robes was like a ghost, wandering behind the experimental table filled with a large number of decayed skulls, bones and magic instruments and sat down.

The leader of the harpists came back to his senses and carefully looked at the Prince of Shadows.

Lamorak Tanshul, the sixth child among the twelve ghost princes, is one of the typical representatives of the neutral faction among the three camps in the city of ghosts.

In Brian's words: this sixth child likes to stay at the end of the line and do some sneaky things.

She didn't know what Brian was based on to make such an evaluation of this person, but at least from the appearance of this ghost prince, it could be seen that Brian's words were a little...close to the truth.

Different from the imposing appearance of other shade princes.

Lamorak Tanshul looked quite haggard, wearing a baggy black robe, revealing only two reddish eyes hidden in the shadow of the hood.

As a Harper scout, Storm has the insight to see through any disguise.

She can see through the hidden divine blood of the drow girl Santilla at a glance.

He was also able to detect the vague aura of Heavenly Mountain's favor emanating from Brian's body just by his keen sense of smell.

The same was true for the Prince of Shadows, she saw him for what he really was with just a casual glance.

All that remains of his mortal form is a beating black heart, located within the ribs and adjacent spine, and every bone in him is completely black.

The current human appearance of the Shade Prince consists only of a ray of shadow.

"Every time I see these items, I always think..." Feng Feng sat across from him, his bright star eyes glanced at the bottles and jars, "If you don't use these spell-casting materials, can your school not be able to cast spells?"

"It's a matter of taste." The Shadow Prince replied calmly, "There is also the tradition of the school, some people will find it disgusting, and some people will find it nothing. As for you, Lady Storm of the Harper Alliance, as the spokesperson of the Mother of All Magic in the material world, You should not blame our tradition."

"So you value magic more?" Storm smiled meaningfully.

She learned from the news that Brian revealed to her.

As one of the typical representatives of the neutral faction in the Shadow City, Lamorrak was appointed by his father, the High King Telamante, to be in charge of the Guild of the Deciders, and to conduct tests on each Shadowman to discover their talents and make them the best. Allegiance to the City of Shadows.

It is said that he has two sons in total. The eldest son once stood in the High King's camp and publicly supported his decision, while the second son dedicated his faith to the lost lady Shar.

In order to maintain his neutrality, Lamorrak secretly killed his two sons, faking their deaths as accidents.

"Yes, I have always agreed that the value of magic is above all, above all arguments, conflicts, political choices, personal interests, resentments, emotions and enmities." The Prince of Shadows replied seriously, "My purpose is to establish a society that respects the same This organization is similar to a secret society, and its purpose is to safeguard the interests of magic and ensure that magic occupies its due place in the ruling class of this world."

"And then, let these people study this pile of bones with you, and then use these bones to stabilize your magical status?" The leader of the harper smiled ironically.

"Your Excellency Lamorac, you must be aware of the purpose of my coming here. Although the purpose has not been achieved, I still accept your invitation and I came in. You plan to chat with me, what are you talking about? Talk about a dead soul instilled How many different combinations of energy human bones are there, or how long does it take for a bright red heart to turn into a black heart under the corrosion of shadow energy. For a while, I thought you were different from your brothers, The only reason they talked to me was to express how disgusted they were with us 'get in the way' of the Missing Ladies' plans."

After saying this, the storm not only recalled Elminster, the sage of Shadow Valley, who was driven to hell by the High King and others, and her dead sister, Dove Hawkhand.

Even though she was used to life and death, she still couldn't let go of the disaster brought about by the City of Shadows.

"You mentioned my brother, and you must have recalled some unpleasant memories, but I will not apologize to you for them." The Prince of Shadows said calmly:
"I understand them, because like them, I have to study hard to master the art of magic. My magic talent is not good, my mind is not enough to make me an outstanding arcanist, and my piety is not up to the priest's. standards, and my personality determines that I cannot be an adventurer or a mercenary.

The gods are so stingy, they gave me nothing except my birth, even if I was born in such a rich and powerful family of arcanists, what is the use of being a sixth child?
During the Netheril Empire, when I was a child, my brothers could use the time after school to run on the grass with bows and arrows, or fish, and play back jumping games, but I was studying magic manuscripts and runes. Floating Void City often Traveling to and fro on the Shadow Plane, where the stony ground oozes cold enough to freeze my bones and joints, it cracks my teeth, and the dust from old books and scrolls makes me cough until I cry, and I My father, Terramante, never misses a chance to whip me on the back, especially when I'm not progressing fast enough academically, fights, chasing girls, and drinking and having fun, all of which I miss . "

"I have no luck yet, and I will never have luck." There was a trace of bitterness on the haggard face of the Shadow Prince.

"When I finally became an arcanist, I was sent to the floating city of my mother's family to be an apprentice to another arcanist who had no hope of becoming a great arcanist. Not long after, the owner of the floating city, Old Bant, saw that I was working hard. Eager to learn, I personally accepted me as the heir. At that time, everyone was sure that I would soon be the next owner of Sumner Floating City, but Felin Mokui destroyed everything about me. The Floating City crashed. When I fell, Just happened to be captured by a group of orcs. Although my father rescued me, in the ensuing battle, I was hit on the head with a mace from the orcs, not to mention smashing the magic shield, and I was unconscious for half a month. In terms of personnel affairs, I heard later that everyone believed that I must die, but my stubborn father still refused to ask the priest to treat me with divine magic.

Although I am not dead, I can no longer go to the battlefield. As long as my head is tapped, or I concentrate on releasing spells, I will feel numb with headaches and even shed tears. In this way, I can only learn magic but cannot release it. It means that I will never be able to become a Grand Arcanist.

Since then, I have used up all my luck. Between me and Desoude, Karthus chose Desoude as his student. Let’s go, even I was the last one to build the Mage Tower. My father once invited Iolum to visit Sultanza. The old man known as the father of Nether expressed his willingness to use magic to cure my sequelae, but waited until On the fifth day, Iolum gave up his floating city and disappeared just like that. When I finally overcame all kinds of difficulties and prepared to show my arcane talent, the magic net exploded..."

"It's so pitiful." The leader of the harpists frowned, "Really, I almost shed tears when I heard that."

"Why is there sarcasm in the language? Ms. Storm, don't you want the love of everyone in the kingdom? I'm trying to tell you about my tragic experience, and I'm eager to get your sympathy." The ghost prince said pitifully, "Even if you simply sympathize with me, can't you do it?"

"Compassion? Mister Lamorac." The leader of the Harpers said softly:
"I don't doubt that kindness, mercy, and forgiveness can be found elsewhere in the many kingdoms, but don't look for them here. The floating city of Sacross is a place of darkness and corruption, not a temple for the mother of all magic. When you don't hesitate to be like mice When living in the dark floating city, sympathy is like milk and honey, it will be used up quickly."

"Where is justice? Can justice be found here?" Prince Shadow asked curiously.

"Justice?" The leader of the Harpers smiled, "I didn't expect you to remember justice, the taste of justice is so good, the principle of our Harpers is to uphold justice and overthrow tyranny, we are the embodiment of justice, at least that's what we tell ourselves Yes, but the night is dark and dangerous everywhere, what justice do you have, you have already been turned into monsters."

"I can see it, Ms. Storm, do you think that only you can maintain justice? Does your failure mean the decline of all truth, goodness and beauty in the world?"

"Mice never think that what they eat is stolen, flies don't think they are dirty, and bats don't think they are poisonous. After all, in the world of crows, swans are all guilty." Leader Harper smiled, " Whatever you think, after all, cognition is not at the same level, there is no need to conquer each other."

"Sure enough, you are a self-proclaimed noble person, then do you think that magic is a talent that can only be mastered by insiders, a privilege enjoyed by the elite, and the most sacred mystery-when it falls into the hands of evil mages like us, it will To the annoyance of you self-proclaimed noble mage-chosen."

The Prince of Shadows tapped his fingernails on a cracked skull, brown and jawless, and ran his fingers along the jagged edge of the temporal bone, saying:

"Obviously, that's why my brothers don't like you guys, and it's the root cause of my dislike for you guys."

For some reason, the words of the Prince of Shadows made the storm tired and sick, and the discomfort became more and more intense, like a snail, crawling down the back of her neck, she looked directly into the eyes of the Prince of Shadows, "Are you here Deliberately delaying time, right?"

In fact, the purpose of her coming here is also to delay time, she thought.

At this moment, she could only secretly pray to the Goddess of Magic, hoping that Brian could successfully complete his mission and return safe and sound.

The Shade Prince raised his head and tapped his fingers on the skull on the table.

"Great insight." He looked into the eyes of the leader of the Harpers. "Please accept my heartfelt compliments, Lady Storm. Yes, I was just trying to stall for time."

Seeing this gaze, Storm Silverhand fell silent.

She was entrusted to Elminster by Mystra, the goddess of magic, when she was a child, but the old sage of Shadowdale could not make her obey.

She is the craziest and wildest of the Seven Sisters, and she is constantly escaping from her Elminster residence and adventuring everywhere.

Years ago, many, many years ago... when she was a young ranger, she met an evil wizard, and she could feel the evil wizard approaching her, but she couldn't see it, hear anything, But she could feel it—she would never forget that feeling.

In a trance, she subconsciously thought that the same feeling had returned.

Fortunately, she is now a powerful legendary professional. Although she can't kill its master in the wizard tower, she can still come and go freely.

"Your insight..." said the Shadow Prince, "saved us a lot of insinuating time, and now we can be open and honest."

Storm didn't answer, because her purpose of coming here was to delay the time and divert the attention of the shadow prince who made Brian jealous, so as to facilitate his next actions.

Therefore, seeing the other party chatting with her with such interest, or showing off, she could only reluctantly agree.

After all, all this is for the perfect implementation of their plan.

"There is no doubt." Prince Yinhun raised his chin proudly, and continued, "The purpose of your coming here is to destroy the Mithr energy core and make Sacross fall, so I can tell you frankly, in fact, we have already Anticipated your plans ahead of time and prepared accordingly."

"Whether it's you, or the troublemakers outside the tower, or even Brian who sneaked into the temple, it is impossible to succeed." He seemed to remember something, and then continued, "When it comes to the mage lord of Mokou Town, there is one thing I am still very grateful to him.”

Hearing the words, Storm's eyes flickered slightly, revealing a look of interest.

The Shadow Prince didn't keep her waiting, "If he hadn't instigated De Sud and asked him to leave Sultansa, I wouldn't have been able to take control of this floating city so easily."

Storm still knew a little about this ghost prince.

It is said that Dessoud was the most silent of the twelve princes.

His silence has long been known in the City of Shade, and he rarely speaks directly to others, and when he does, his tone conveys wisdom and insight.

In Sultanza he was more of a peacemaker character, and the other 11 princes often sought his advice on vexing issues and secret quarrels, where he was rarely biased but analyzed the situation in detail , and then propose profound and reasonable solutions.

It's hard to imagine what method Brian used to make the wisest and wisest ghost prince leave Sultanza on his own initiative.

"What's your purpose in telling me this?" Storm asked, "Your Excellency Lamorac, you suddenly mentioned Brian to me, obviously there is no reason, right? What is your purpose?"

"It's a very realistic purpose." Prince Yinhun happily knocked on the skeleton in his hand and smiled.

"I just received news from Yada that this stupid mage lord actually tried to destroy the Lost Lady's Stone of the Shadow Demon's Web. No, he doesn't look that stupid, and he knows that he can't touch the Shadow Demon's Web Stone, or forcibly destroy it with spells."

"What's the matter with him?" Storm asked impatiently, his eyes full of worry.

"It's a very unfortunate news. He is not Yada's opponent. He panicked and foolishly escaped to the sealed place where the demon lord was imprisoned." The Shadow Prince seemed to enjoy the expression of the leader of the Harpist, and continued:

"The demon lord Barlow from the sixth pyre of the bottomless abyss is imprisoned there. Listen clearly, he is the real demon lord, not an incarnation. Even Matick and I have nothing to do with him. Now , he may have died in the flames of the abyss, I originally wanted to thank him personally, but unfortunately I have no chance, the gods are so cruel."

The leader of the harpists changed his expression slightly when he heard the words, and was about to speak, when the Shadow Prince interrupted her violently by raising his hand, and said in a sharp and deep voice:
"Well, Lady Storm, this is the end of our conversation. I can't trap you, and you can't kill me in my tower. I don't want to waste time with you here. Now, I beg you to leave, Disappear forever from Sacrosse, and get out of our way! In short, roll as far as you can!"

"Indeed." The leader of the Harpist got up step by step, showing his signature smile:

"Your honesty and fickleness amazed me more and more, Lord Lamorrak. I have thought of many possibilities, but I have never thought of this way of leaving. You should also know that as an enemy, it is better to ask me It’s true to use fireballs directly, farewell!”

Magical energy flowed, and the storm stepped into the portal and disappeared.

Looking at the departing figure of the harpist, the Prince of Shadows stopped beating, grasped the cap of the skull with his whole hand, and muttered to himself in surprise, "Lady Lost actually made a move herself."

The night was dark, and the pale moonlight could hardly dispel the deep shadows on the forest path.

Although the road was wide enough for merchants' wagons to pass, the old trees still gathered in thick canopies overhead, and vines and shrubs grew tangled along the sides of the path.

Caravans usually only dare to pass through this forest during the day to avoid bandits and wild animals wandering in the forest at night.

Santilla understands this, and they guard the forest quietly, keeping vigilance at all times, watching out for any signs of danger.

In the task that Brian arranged for the three of them, they only need to be responsible for making trouble in the floating city and interfering with the actions of the ghost man.

Now, their task has been completed, and according to Brian's instructions, they arrived at the agreed meeting point and waited patiently here.

"Sister Girase, why haven't they come back yet?" Santilla asked worriedly.

What she asked was a tall female elf with a beautiful face and a crescent moon on her exquisite armor.

The female elf Girase is a silver moonwalker from the Moon Monastery in the North, a guardian of the moon who believes in the goddess of the moon, Surun, and she is accompanied by another harpist scout whose strength has reached the legendary realm .

All three of them have one thing in common, that is, agility and mobility.

It was the efforts of the three of them that forcibly dragged another ghost tower in the floating city, giving Brian and Storm a lot of time to sneak into the shadow temple and wizard tower.

"Don't worry." Silver Moonwalker walked over with light steps. With the help of the bleak moonlight, she looked in the direction of the floating city thoughtfully, and said gently to the anxious drow girl, "Sakros still Nothing has happened, which means that the plan of the two of them has not yet been completed."

"Why don't we go back to meet Brian and Mr. Storm." Santilla's heart tightened, trying to ask for her opinion.

"Wait patiently first." Silver Moon Walker shook his head slightly, thought carefully for a moment, and said, "If necessary, they will send us a magic message."

"Well, that's the only way to go." Santilla sighed helplessly.

Originally, she wanted to act together with Brian, but he had a cold face and resolutely rejected her proposal. Although she was very dissatisfied in her heart, she could only carry on.

For Santilla, the waiting time was always dull and boring.

Still, she couldn't help cheering up at the thought of the journey beyond any end of the trip.

Because Brian promised her that once the floating city of Sacross was destroyed, he would take himself to the ruins of Myth Dranno in Comanthor to help her find the artifact that appeared in her dream.

At that time, she can accompany Brian back to Mokou Town, and when he thinks the opportunity comes, he will take her to the Leyline Labyrinth in Waterdeep City to find the Lost Walking Temple.

Thinking that she could always be by Brian's side, she faintly looked forward to it again.

Suddenly, she seemed to think of something, and hurried to Silvermoon Walker Girase, and asked curiously: "Sister Girase, didn't you mean to tell me about the Lord of Silvermoon, Hellist? You can tell me."

She had long learned from Teacher Storm that the Lord of Silver Moon had publicly accompanied Brian in Mokou Town, which made her curious about him.

Girase is a member of the Moon Monastery. It is located in the Moon Forest in the Northland, very close to Silvermoon City. Naturally, it knows the mysterious Lord of Silvermoon better.

"How should I say it?" Silvermoonwalker looked at the expectant eyes of the drow girl, and rubbed his forehead with a slight headache, not knowing what to say.

She thought about it for a moment, and said, "The newly appointed city lord is a relatively cold elf. He does things too rationally and has a strong sense of oppression. He seems to belong to the kind of person who is only suitable for being a soul mate. Of course, According to my estimate, I'm afraid there is no man who can control her. However, she seems to have encountered some trouble recently..."

Before they finished speaking, both Santilla and Giraser's expressions changed, and they subconsciously looked in the same direction.

At the same time, the two saw the Harper scout in charge of reconnaissance, running over in a panic.

Santilla was shocked to find that the expression of the Harper scout, who seemed thin but flexible enough to avoid a magic pulse cannon, showed fear that shocked her.

"It's not good, run away..."

Before he could finish his words, his body suddenly moved forward, a sharp blade with a cold light pierced through his back and pierced through his chest, and blood spurted out following the sudden withdrawal of the sharp blade.

Following the fall of the Harpist Scout, a silent black shadow, like a ghost, descended from the sky.

Under the bleak moonlight, Santilla saw that the black figure was wrapped in a cloak, only revealing a pair of deep purple eyes. When she focused her eyes on the black shadow's eyes, it seemed that she was in an empty and dark nothingness among.

"Are you Crysanna from the City of Shadows?" Silvermoonwalker Girather asked slowly when he saw the dead Harpist scout, his expression sank.

While speaking, her hand unconsciously touched the weapon at her waist.

"No!"

Santilla's voice seemed uncontrollable, and she said tremblingly, "She is not Krisanna, she is Shar, the lost lady, how could she appear here?"

When she said this, she suddenly woke up, how did she know the real identity of the other party.

In her impression, since the unprecedented catastrophe of the 'Arcane Catastrophe' subsided, the rules among the gods have also undergone tremendous changes, and it is impossible for the incarnation of any god to come to the main material world.

However, this unimaginable situation in front of him really happened in front of Santilla.

What exactly is going on?

Santilla's heart was filled with shock, and an unspeakable fear permeated her whole body.

As her words blurted out, time seemed to freeze at this moment.

"It seems that my guess is correct."

A cold and cruel female voice sounded from the mouth of the black shadow.

She raised her head, her deep purple eyes shone with a cold gleam, and a cruel smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, "Su Lun's guardian, and you... It's really an unexpected surprise, it's worth it for me to do it myself."

The black shadow waved his hand gently, and the surrounding space suddenly twisted, as if it would collapse at any moment due to the squeeze brought by this terrible force.

"Santila, run away! Her goal is you, I will help you block her."

While speaking, the Silvermoonwalker Girase stood in front of the drow girl, drew the bowstring, and shot out an arrow as bright as moonlight.

Accompanied by the howling of sharp arrows, in the gloomy sky, the bleak moonlight shone brightly as if responding.

"boom!"

The arrow burst into a white flash, turning the entire dark forest into daylight.

Looking at Silver Moonwalker's resolute eyes, Santi bit her lower lip tightly, and took this opportunity to activate the teleportation spell and disappeared.

Miss Lost turned a blind eye to Santilla's departure.

"Crack!"

The movement of her raising her hand seemed extremely slow but also extremely fast, she clenched her fist lightly, and the whizzing sharp arrow broke instantly under the squeeze of shadow energy.

An incomprehensible realm hangs over the nearby space.

A shadow flew out!

Silvermoonwalker Girase hadn't reacted yet, his tall body suddenly stopped, and immediately split into two parts, his somewhat dead head fell to the ground, and then his body slowly fell to the ground.

"Su Lun's believers are still so vulnerable."

The Lost Lady flicked off the blood on the sharp blade nonchalantly, as if she was just shaking off inconspicuous dust.

"The night... is my veil, do you really think you can escape?"

Then, she turned her gaze to a location hundreds of kilometers away.

The next moment, Santilla felt a shock all over her body, and immediately sensed a bone-chilling energy pouring into her body, spreading along her blood vessels to her whole body at an extremely fast speed.

There was a sense of powerlessness.

She felt that this weird energy was rapidly taking away her strength, stamina and energy.

Immediately afterwards, her face began to turn pale, her aura was extremely weak, and her vitality gradually faded along with a burst of bone-piercing shadow energy.

Santilla's breathing declined, and her consciousness gradually blurred...

"Corillon's Wintermoon Bow, Melika's Elona Quiver, and Sivanus' Oak Fruit, do they still lack Mystra's Silver Flame?"

The figure of the Lost Lady was suspended in mid-air, her gaze was looking into the distance, and a cruel and ruthless sneer curled up on the corner of her mouth: "Rose, that female spider has a treaty with you, and it has nothing to do with me. It's really selfish to try to light up the stars in my domain." Looking for a way to die..."

Her figure, like a predator in the night, gradually blurred, and finally merged into the twisted shadow space.

…………

(End of this chapter)